By Mallie Jane Kim
Three Village Central School District is weighing options for enhanced security in the wake of an incident where a student accidentally brought a parent’s law enforcement gun into a classroom at Ward Melville High School Oct. 10.
The student immediately surrendered the weapon, and a subsequent investigation found there had been no threat, but many parents were disconcerted that a gun could enter the school so easily.
Some parents see armed guards as the solution, and several have publicly advocated for immediate implementation through public comments at board meetings and through a new Facebook group on the matter, which currently has about 200 members.
“Inaction on this issue is negligence,” parent Michael Corbisiero told the school board at a Nov. 6 meeting. Corbisiero, who identified himself as a retired chief of police and U.S. Navy veteran, pointed out that some neighboring school districts, for example, Smithtown Central School District and Miller Place Union Free School District, have voted to include armed guards in their security protocols, and he expressed frustration that he hadn’t seen the board make any changes over the month since the incident.
“I see no armed guards, I see no security upgrades, I see no additional staff,” Corbisiero said. “I see nothing different.”
According to Jack Blaum, the district’s safety and security coordinator, who provided an update at the board meeting, not all security upgrades will be visible to the public. Blaum touted an AI weapons detection technology that would integrate with existing security cameras as a best first step and said the district is close to choosing one. Implementing the technology would take about a month, he said.
Any security solution needs to be part of a robust system, according to Blaum, even the AI technology he prefers. “It’s one tool of many tools that we need to put in place,” Blaum said. “Nothing is the end-all.”
Blaum said he does not support metal detectors since, in his view, the usefulness of those systems does not outweigh the logistical hurdles or the impact on students’ sense of well-being walking through them every day.
“It creates an anxious society for us,” Blaum said. “The goal of the projects and surveys I’m working on currently is to strike that balance between weapon detection and creating a safe environment here.”
Placing armed security guards in schools has been a fraught issue across the nation, with some parents concerned about creating an atmosphere of fear as well as the potential for accidents or misuse. Others support the idea as a quicker way to stop would-be school shooters.
If Three Village opted to implement an armed security guard program, Blaum would prefer arming existing employees who are familiar with the buildings and the students, as opposed to contracting with an outside vendor.
“If we determine there’s somebody with a weapon outside room 220 at Ward Melville, our people are going to know that,” Blaum said. “Arriving police? They’re not going to be that familiar with it. Vendors? Not that familiar with it.”
Vice President Karen Roughley emphasized that even in districts where armed guards or metal detectors are voted in, implementation doesn’t happen overnight — and she added that the board is charged with considering viewpoints from all stakeholders before making a policy change like this.
“Everything is on the table for discussion and how we do it, but it needs to be done right,” Roughley said. “Not fast — right.”
The next BOE meeting will be held on Dec. 11, at 7 p.m.
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